:: The Queen's white satin coronation dress was made by Norman Hartnell and embroidered with the emblems of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. The embroidery in gold and silver thread and pastel-coloured silks was encrusted with seed pearls and crystals to create a latticework effect.

:: Buckingham Palace housemaids, chefs and gardeners all gathered inside the Grand Hall at the Palace to watch the Queen leave for Westminster Abbey.

:: On her way to the coronation, the Queen wore the George IV State Diadem – the crown she is depicted wearing on stamps. It was made in 1820 for George IV's coronation.

:: The Queen's coronation service was taken by the Archbishop of Canterbury, whose duty this has usually been since the Norman Conquest in 1066. For the first time at the 1953 Coronation, a representative of another Church, the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, also took part in the service.

:: The coronation service has six basic parts – the recognition, the oath, the anointing, the investiture, which includes the crowning, the enthronement and the homage.

:: The anointing has the deepest significance during the ceremony. The exact recipe is secret, but the Anointing Oil is known to contain oils of orange, roses, cinnamon, musk and ambergris. Usually a batch is made to last a few coronations. In May 1941, a bomb hit the Deanery destroying the phial containing the anointing oil so a new batch had to be made.

:: During the investiture, the Queen put on the newly-made Colobium Sindonis – a loose linen-lawn garment – and then a robe of cloth of gold, the Dalmatic or Supertunica, which was used by George VI. The Lord Great Chamberlain presented the golden spurs, the symbol of chivalry, after which the Archbishop of Canterbury presented a jewelled sword, and then the armills, the golden bracelets of sincerity and wisdom. Finally, the Queen put on a stole and cloth of gold, Robe Royal (Imperial Mantle), and received the orb, the coronation ring, the glove and the sceptre.

:: The St Edward's Crown, made in 1661, was the crown placed on the Queen's head during the coronation service. In its current form, it was first used by Charles II but it is thought that the lower part might be from Edward the Confessor's crown.

:: The orb, also made in 1661, is a globe of gold surrounded by a cross girdled by a band of diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires and pearls with a large amethyst at the summit.

:: The coronation ring, also known as The Wedding Ring of England, was worn by the Queen on the fourth finger of her right hand in accordance with tradition. It was made for the coronation of King William IV in 1831

:: Queen Victoria did not wear the 1831 ring. Her fingers were so small that the ring could not be reduced far enough in size.

:: The 1953 coronation service was the first service to be televised and for many people it was the first time they had watched an event on television. An estimated 27 million people in Britain watched the ceremony on TV and 11 million listened on the radio.

:: On the day of the coronation, it was learned that Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay had reached the summit of Mount Everest.